June 11, 2014

Reading time ~3 minutes

Is the NSA listening in on you? Are your phone calls recorded? Is your meta data safe? Has your meta data fallen between the cushions of your couch into the nether world of lose change, dog hair, TV remotes, and popcorn dust? Who knows for sure, and thats the point, you don’t know. Is Edward Snowden full of shit, is he part of a disinformation op, or is he genuine? It really doesn’t matter does it?

For all the “Shocking”” revelations that Mr. Snowden has been bringing to light, there seems to be a missing reaction. Nothing is happening to curb or restrict the NSA’s actions or abilities. It seems like we are being fed information, slowly, so we can more easily adjust to the new reality. Jon Rappoport wrote a very interesting blog on just this idea.

Basically he says that the “slow drip” of revelations is a form of social engineering. A way to get us use to the idea of 24/7 surveillance. Whether there is any surveillance or not is not important. If the NSA is gathering meta data and all other manor of data on us they surely would not admit to the extent of their abilities. If they are not, or can not see into our lives so easily they surely would never claim they can’t. It is in their best interest to keep the general public paranoid and worried that they can, and are. If big brother is watching, we had better all act accordingly, right?

"punishment does not take place primarily for the correction and good of the person punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evil they would commit."

What good is a massive high-tech global surveillance program if no one knows about it?

With what limited technological abilities I have I can tell you that what Snowden is claiming is indeed possible, with the finance and power of a government backing it. Most indications point to the revelations being real. If you want to feel really queazy and paranoid, watch the Frontline and the part 2, “Privacy Lost”. For me they are shocking (again) and very disturbing.

I think the slow drip idea is very smart. We all know that the general public has an attention span equal in length to the average cat video on YouTube. The slow drip method, coming from a whistle blower has the added feature that the information is initially questioned and doubted. The longer this gets dragged out the less interested the general public becomes. People become numb, mesmerized by non-stop stimulation we become euphoric, docile. We accept our fate.

I find it interesting that Edward Snowden seems to be well scripted. By that I mean, he is young enough that people will feel he understands modern technology, but not so young that we will think he is a flake. He is a mild looking nerd. He is almost painfully average. If it was your job to cast his part in a movie, you’d want his exact look.

I believe that as always, the “truth” lay somewhere in the cushions of our societal couch. These programs do exist. They do have the abilities that everyone fears that have, maybe more. The people in charge truly believe they are working on the side of right. And that we the general public will be more than happy to be totally apathetic to the whole thing. The dark, sticky, lint covered reality that we all do not want to face is that we are being managed, handled just like cattle.